Developing Research in Radiology: The Estonian Outlook

Author

The University of Tartu, founded in 1632 is a
national university in Estonia uniting different branches of science.The
Faculty of Medicine in the University of Tartu is the only faculty for medical
education in Estonia including radiology. Research and teaching are the major
activities of the Faculty of Medicine and the Foundation University of Tartu
Clinics. Its mission is to advocate for a highly-educated Estonia through
internationally acclaimed research and the provision of research-based higher education.
Due to the small size of our country, in order to develop radiology, we have
had to implement several strategies to develop the academic, clinical and
biomedical environment for research with close cooperation between domestic and
foreign partners.This is to ensure that we are keeping pace with development
across the globe.This article covers the steps we have taken to carry this out.

The department of radiology aims to guarantee academic sustainability
which must be achieved by employing the best Estonian and foreign researchers in
the radiology at the university of Tartu. Its main goals are to:

1. Make academic careers more attractive for junior radiologists,
researchers and residents, and motivate them to consider this path;

2. Connect doctoral studies closely with university teaching to
create a new generation of academic staff - career possibilities must be made
clear to young specialists;

3. Raise the income level of academic staff. The low income
level of academic staff and doctoral students compared to radiologists in
clinical practice is one of the reasons why young specialists do not choose an academic
career;

4. Provide individuals in academic posts with experience at a
foreign institution when elected to academic posts; and,

5. Increase the proportion of members of the academic staff from
abroad and support their involvement in the teaching and research of radiology
in Estonia.

Status of Radiological Research

Research and teaching are, by necessity, closely connected. Due
to Estonia’s small size, there are only a few persons involved in research and
teaching in radiology, with only two positions in the department of radiology. The
department of radiology is led by the Professor, or ‘Docent’, who is
responsible for the development of radiology in Estonia, for teaching radiology
and resident training in the University of Tartu and who must be the leader of
research in radiology. A senior assistant is also responsible for resident
training. Other positions are filled by the senior radiologists from the Foundation
University of Tartu Clinics, who are also involved in teaching students and
radiology residents. Altogether there are only three radiologists in Estonia
who have PhD degrees able to apply for grants and lead research projects. Only
one of them now works at the University of Tartu. To bolster these low numbers,
a guest professor is also nominated from abroad. Since September 2006,
Professor H. Aronen from the University of Turku, Finland is working here in
this capacity.

Young Researchers Give Hope for the Future

Due to the lack in Estonia of our own supervisors for doctoral
studies, several Estonian doctoral students are sent abroad to outstanding
research centres in radiology in different countries, for example to the Karolinska
Hospital, Sweden, the National Hospital, Oslo, etc. There, young researchers in
radiology get supervision and funding to fulfil their research plans and
increase their experience.

It is to be hoped that these young researchers will inject new
life, after returning to Estonia, using new experiences in clinical practice
and developing their own research projects in Estonia. Only with a strong competitive
edge and an international focus in research and tuition is the development of
the University of Tartu as an outstanding research centre, possible.

Developing Research Projects in Estonia

Several projects in radiological imaging in Estonia are based on
cooperation with other clinical specialties. A long-standing cooperation
connects research in radiology and neurology, oncology, paediatrics, neuropaediatrics,
intensive care, rheumatology and orthopaedics. All these studies were funded
nationally through different governmental grants.

The basic system for initiating clinical research studies in
Estonia is to get approval from the Ethical Committee of Human Research in the
University of Tartu. The committee includes physicians, lawyers, social
workers, philosophers and priests. They evaluate the ethical and juridicial
aspects of the scientific value of the study and suitability of the planned research
in humans. The evaluation is separated from the working place and the
researchers. The Ethical Committee is based on the convention of human rights
and biomedicine of the European Union (1997), other international documents of bioethics
and Estonian legislation. The aim of the committee is to guarantee the human
rights and the health of the research subjects.

Types of Research Funding

The Estonian Ministry of Education and Research is responsible
for the planning, coordination, execution and surveillance of research and
education policies. The Estonian Research Council is an advisory body to the
Minister of Education and Research, members of which are nominated for three
years by the government. The council is supported in its activities by nine
expert groups. The channels of the Estonian research and development financing
funding system are:

1. Targeted financing;

2. Baseline funding;

3. Research grant funding (the Estonian Science Foundation);

4. National research and development programmes; and,

5. Funding of research and development infrastructures.

Targeted financing is decided by the Minister of Education and
Research following the recommendation of the Estonian Research Council. The aim
is to ensure a competitive basic structure for scientific research. Open to all
fields and all research groups , both basic and applied research is funded. The
Estonian Research Council organises the peerreviewing of submitted applications
and advises the Minister on opening funding for new research themes and the
continuation of funding for previously approved ones. The funding period for approved
research topics is up to six years, subject to periodical assessment of
progress. The Estonian Research Council also makes proposals concerning the
covering of infrastructure expenses of research and development institutions.
34 new research topics with a total budget of 58.54 million kroons were approved
for targeted financing in 2007.

Baseline funding is a new instrument, introduced in 2005. The
purpose is financing research institutions on the basis of research quality in
order to support the development and initiative research of institutions. Also,
it is aimed for co-financing of cooperation projects, international and local,
between academia and industry.

Estonian Science Foundation & Research

The Estonian Science Foundation (EstSF), established in July
1990 by Estonian Government, is an expert research-funding organisation. Its
main goal is to support the most promising research initiatives in all fields
of basic and applied research. The EstSF uses state budget appropriations to
award peer-reviewed research grants to individuals and research groups on a
competitive basis. The purpose is primarily to support high-level initiative
research, new ideas and studies. Project applications are evaluated by expert
commissions and approved by the EstSF Council. In the year 2007 EstSF is
financing 630 research projects - 144 new and 486 continuing. The overall sum
of granting in 2007 is 101.6 million kroons.

Guidelines for a Knowledge-based Estonia

At present the main guideline and document for Estonian Research
and Development policy is “Knowledge-based Estonia”, the Estonian Research, Development
and Innovation Strategy 2007-2013, which was approved by the Estonian
parliament in February 2007. The strategy outlines the aspiration of Estonia to
become a knowledge-based society where research and development are valued
highly as one of the preconditions for the functioning and development of the
entire society. Key principles of the policy is to promote high-quality and
internationally competitive research with focus on human potential and
infrastructure which can create high economic surplus value.

Author
Dr Pilvi Ilves
Associate
Professor/Docent of
Radiology
Department of Radiology
Faculty of Medicine
The University of Tartu
Tartu, Es

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